I am so Happy and here is One (of many) reasons why...

One of the many reasons i love being a Mom? My kids crack me up! Kris and I were talking the other day between our selves about how funny kids are...sure, we are pretty tired at the end of the day..taking care of our little children...it's no small job that's for sure! But man! We laugh and smile so much! With 4 kids some one is always doing something cute or note worthy that makes me smile...That my friends is one of the many reasons i love having kids, they make me happy!

Smile Worthy (or i have to admit, foolish grin worthy) Elijah drew this "E" all by him self and came running to me to show me! "E" for "whyjah" mommy.."E" for "whyjah" we have been working on this for well..a very long time... Definitely a smile moment!

...Or this time he was flexing for me..for like 15 minutes, and i had to exclaim over his "Big strong muscles" as he put it! LOL...such an ego my boys have! He actually took off his shirt so i could see his muscles better! hahahaha..man i love my kids! my crazy, silly, fun, kids!

Baked Oatmeal

Yum!!!! Try these they are so good. Many of you may know, or not know..i freezer batch allot of food. It helps with dishes, and prep time and getting the kids off to a great start! I mostly bake and freeze breakfast and lunches. It helps free up time to get Elijah off to therapy and Julia get school started and still have time to nurse the baby and make sure my soon to be 2 year old eats. And i can make it nutritious.

• 
  Preheat oven to 375°
• 4 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup raisins (I used 3 snack sized boxes)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups almond milk or milk 
• 1 cup applesauce
• 4 tablespoons butter or butter substitute, melted 
• 2 large egg, beaten 
• Natural Maple syrup for drizzling 
• 
  

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl.Mix the milk, applesauce, butter, and egg to oat mixture; stir well. Put in muffin cups,spray with cooking spray.  Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.This made about 26 "cup cakes" for us. *Please note these do not rise like cup cakes do, so make sure you fill them to just about where you want them, they may rise a little bit..but its minimal, I  let mine cool for like an hour and then put them in the freezer. We of course had to taste test a few ;)

*Adapted from several different sources online

Graduation...

Julia graduated from kindergarten to 1st grade Sunday school today, Here she is receiving her "diploma". She was so scared to go up in front of every one..how in the world did i end up with a shy child? But she went up because her Sunday school teacher was up front and Julia loves her...allot. Kris and I think she is pretty great too, she is also Elijah's teacher and she is absolutely wonderful with them both!

Julia was so proud! (and yes Elijah went to the church picnic with a pirates hat on..lol)

The First Lost Tooth

This tooth needed to come out....

Last pic of all her baby teeth

I dont want it to bleed

 ...and the water works started...

oh brother....

so she wiggled and wiggled

and out it came! she pulled it HERSELF!..after a little dramatic crying and weeping....

once the blood stopped.....

she is quite proud!

its so tiny!

Pictures of Brothers

 This is my husband as a baby, no clue how old....not a great photo, but this is the best i got :)

this is Asher

This is Elijah

(none of Titus this time, didnt have a pic at this age of him on his tummy)

...and just because he is so stinking cute!!!!

A couple things Julia did in school this past week

Her cuneiform we made in salt dough and baked, her name is en-scripted

A bible verse she wrote for her lap book in science,she hasn't even been 6 for 2 months and i am pleased with her handwriting :)

She has completed 4 full weeks of 1st grade  so far! Its going pretty well I am happy to say!

Good Job Jules!

Silly Titus!

Titus is my Ham. Of all my kids, he loves to make us smile. God gave me Titus at a very crazy time in my life. Elijah at that time (i was pregnant with Ty guy) was regressing in to his Autism. And life was very very hard. When Ty was born they put him in my arms, and i could not stop smiling, and he still has that effect on me. He will be 2 very soon. And he is trying so hard to grow up! Just today he is starting to jump like a big boy. And we have to clap and cheer every.single.time. 

So when i am getting the kids dressed in the morning they all have to wait their turn, well Ty decided to start on his own with the undressing, and this is what happened..."oh no! Stuck" he says..hehe, new fashion style?

and then he loves to help "mama" as he calls me, with making supper. How blessed am I with such an adorable, happy helper?! Love that goof ball of mine!

Elijahs First Sleep over!

When My kiddos turn 3 my parents take their grand kids for their very first sleep over alone, with no siblings. Well Elijah wasn't at the point yet that he could do that last year. But with the leaps and bounds he has taken, this year was the year! And when i told him that grandma and papa were coming to get him for a sleep over (15 minutes before they showed up, i am so smart ;) he excitedly put his back pack on and was all smiles!

I love that he understood and was so excited!!! And when they showed up, he wanted to leave right away! And was very disappointed when they wanted to visit for 10 minutes and see the other kids. 

Poor Papa, Elijah kept on saying "Hold You?" which means pick me up in Elijah language. Apparently he was a very good boy, and he had such a good time. So excited Elijah can start to do normal little boy things like this. It means the world to me. 

So when my parents left with Elijah, Titus was heart broken, he grabbed the empty hot wheels  case and was walking out the door saying good bye to me...it was so sad when i had to explain he had to stay home....

I mean, doesn't this break your heart???? Next year buddy, you will be 3 next year..and then mommy will have a picture of herself crying like this because you are all grown up! lol.

2 Months old

Asher is 2 months old today!

I stuck him on our scale here at home and it said 11.8 lbs, not sure what that means..sense our scale only goes up to a .9...it may mean he is just shy of 12lbs or he is 11 1/2 lbs. He has his appointment in 2 weeks. I will find out then! He is my smiley guy.

and his eye lashes are so curly! His eye color still is a gray/blue and seem to be getting lighter. Not sure they will get as blue as Julia's..but definitely allot like his daddy's color. He gives me one great stretch at night..usually in bed by 9:30 to 10:30 and up to nurse again at 3:30 and every 2 hours after that. He is starting to cry less in the car, which is nice ;) and His re flux medicine is really helping him! Mommy and Daddy have fallen head over heals for their little boy, and love to snuggle with him. His siblings love him to pieces and they often are willing to push him in his swing and shove a paci in his mouth (Titus especially). He is almost grown out of 0 to 3 month clothes and size one diapers..although he will wear size one till mommy drains her stash. Asher has become such a part of our family, it is strange to look at photos of "just the 3" before he came..it looks like some one is missing! lol..so we must get a pic of the 4 soon! Happy 2 months Asher! We love you!

Silence is golden

Any good mommy knows, silence is not always golden. Usually, if the kiddos are quite, its bad. Really bad. Like sharpie marker on the walls bad. I was washing dishes and realized that it had been way to quite. I get that drop in my stomach of dread, and go check on the kids. I run into their bed room. And this is what i see...... 

Miss Julia reading to her brothers. I love them. No sharpie anywhere, my mommy heart puddles i snap a picture and walk out and leave them in peace. I now have proof, silence can indeed be golden.